macbook

The spread and adoption of online social networks over the past few years have been accompanied by a rise of instances of vigilant members of those communities virally coming together to help one of their own, in this case recovering stolen goods (typically some form of personal consumer electronics that originates from Cupertino). Earlier this year Josh Kaufman’s Apple MacBook stolen from his Oakland apartment. With the help of a laptop tracking software that he had installed, Josh was able to remotely access his stolen computer and its built-in camera to snap photos of the thief himself. With this information in hand, he opened a Tumblr called This Guy Has My MacBook where he chronicled his attempts to recover his laptop. It received minimal attention until Josh tweeted it at which point it organically blew up where the story and his Tumblr virally spread like wildfire. The ensuing press eventually forced the city police into action and Josh was able to reunite with his MacBook.

Similarly, Massachusetts college student Mark Bao used another tracking app on his stolen MacBook Air which he used to grab and tweetthis video of the thief recording himself pop and lock dancing (LOL!).

Rolling Stone published a great photo gallery of behind the scenes of Mad Men, including this awesome photo of “Ken Cosgrove and Harry Crane” accidentally stumbling upon a MacBook Pro left behind accidentally by a time traveler.